The Land Registry has been a separate government department since 1862 and became the first of the Lord Chancellor's executive agencies in July 1990. Trading Fund status was achieved from 1 April 1993.
We are wholly self-financing and therefore make no call on public funds under normal operating procedures.
The Land Registry operates through 24 district land registries located throughout England and Wales, a London-based headquarters, a Land Charges Department and a Computer Services Division (both based in Plymouth).
Our main function is to maintain and develop a register of title to freehold and leasehold land in England and Wales. Title is guaranteed by the State. We are also responsible for maintaining registers of land charges, pending actions, writs and orders affecting land and other encumbrances registered under the Land Charges Act 1972, and a register of short-term loans by banks secured on farming stock and other agricultural assets under part II of the Agricultural Credits Act 1928.
The land register is a record of all land ownership that has been registered in England and Wales. Each register of title has its own number (the title number) and contains a description of the property, the name and address of the registered proprietor and other details such as mortgages and rights that may affect the property adversely. The register also includes a title plan, showing the location and extent of each registered title.
Once a piece of land is registered with the Land Registry:
In addition, anyone who suffers financial loss because of errors in the register, office copies and official searches of the register has the right, subject to certain conditions, to receive compensation from the Land Registry.
Since December 1990 the land register has been open to the public and for a fee anyone can inspect the register, find out the name and address of the current owner of any registered property or obtain a copy of any registered title. The growing demand for land and property information is apparent from the wide interest shown in our Residential Property Price Reports. We produce a free Residential Property Price Report each quarter which provides average prices and volumes of sales for all counties or county boroughs in England and Wales.
We also provide on request more specific bespoke reports covering local authorities, postal areas, districts and sectors. A fee is charged for this service.
In the period from April to December 2002 there were an average of 60,000 website visits a month to look at the reports. We received an average of 650 telephone enquiries and produced an average of 45 bespoke reports a month.
The Land Registry's Quinquennial Review Report, published in June 2001, made over 120 recommendations that would both further enhance the Registry's already creditable reputation and assist the Government in its drive to modernise land and property markets.
It was recognised by the Reviewer that some of the recommendations could take several years to meet, the prime example being the completion of the Land Register for England and Wales. As a consequence, the Land Registry constructed a 10-year strategy that would enable it to plan its business development in order to achieve such longer term plans. The 10-year Strategic Plan was launched by the Lord Chancellor on 28 May 2002.
The Strategic Plan was built around the following eight strategic objectives:
In order to meet the public's desire for a quicker and less stressful way of buying and selling property we are pressing on with a programme of work that will develop and deliver a re-engineered and fully electronic conveyancing system. Key features of the system include:
A major formal consultation exercise was launched in May 2002 to obtain the views of everyone who has an interest in the conveyancing process, including the general public, on the ideas and concepts generated so far. The outcomes will guide the specification and design of electronic conveyancing services and the systems needed to deliver them.
A pilot implementation of the full system is planned for 2006 followed by a phased roll-out.
In advance of the implementation of the full system, the Land Registry is developing electronic services that will enable direct changes to be made to the register by lenders in respect of the discharge of mortgages and the registration of fresh mortgages.
In February 2002 a system was introduced to enable the electronic lodgement of applications to make simple changes to the register. During 2003 this will be extended to include applications that need to be accompanied by Land Registry forms and electronically signed deeds.
A Land Registration Bill, based on the proposals in Land Registration for the 21st Century, received Royal Assent on 26 February 2002. The Act, which is due to be implemented in October 2003, will completely replace the Land Registration Act 1925 and will, as mentioned above, provide a framework for a full system of electronic conveyancing.
A consultation exercise seeking the views of our customers on the new draft Land Registration Rules which will operate under the Land Registration Act 2002 was completed in November 2002.
One of the changes introduced by the Act is the creation of the new office of the Adjudicator to Her Majesty's Land Registry. One of the Adjudicator's key functions will be to determine disputes which have arisen out of an objection to an application, where it is not possible for the parties to reach agreement. We are now consulting on the rules for the referral of these disputes to the Adjudicator. The Lord Chancellor is responsible for any rules covering the detail of the functions of the Adjudicator and the procedures which apply once a matter has been referred to him.
We publish Explanatory Leaflets and Practice Advice Leaflets (in paper format and on our website) to provide practical advice to practitioners and other customers. All of this material will need to be revised and republished (largely in electronic form) to take account of the effects of the new legislation.
We are well on the way to meeting the Prime Minister's target for electronic delivery of all our key services by 2005. We have already achieved our Service Delivery Agreement target of 97% of titles in the land register being capable of electronic delivery.
Our e-business strategic plan takes into account the recommendations from Electronic Government Services for the 21st Century (Performance and Innovation Unit) and Successful IT: Modernising Government in Action.
The Land Registry's information systems strategy over the next two years and beyond centres on the following initiatives:
We are currently in the process of enhancing our business continuity with an additional mainframe facility at a remote site.
Land Registry Direct is an online service that provides electronic access to Land Registry data. From their own offices, authorised customers can request office copies, lodge official searches, view over 18 million registers and title plans, and electronically deliver an ever-widening range of land registration transactions.
There are already more than 15,000 end-users (from over 4,400 different organisations) signed up to use the service. Approximately 100 new organisations apply to join each month. Growth in the use of some transaction types has been simply astonishing since the service was introduced. For example, from a very modest start when the service was first launched in June 2000, well over 120,000 Electronic Notifications of Discharge (of mortgages) are made monthly by lending institutions. In order to meet the current and projected future growth in the use of the service, the Land Registry, in conjunction with its private sector IT partner, has put in hand a substantial upgrade to the system architecture and network configuration. This upgrade will also pave the way for introducing yet more facilities and services in the future.
The project to computerise our paper-based Index Map began in September 2001 and special teams are now operational at all 24 District Land Registries. There are 450,000 paper Index Maps, at various scales, covering England and Wales and these contain approximately 18 million registered titles. These are scheduled to be converted into a vector polygon electronic format over a two-year period, ending in March 2004.
The creation of vector polygons will facilitate improvements internally in the processing of searches and other applications, and create an improved gateway to our electronic records and services for our customers that will permit full access to map-based information for 'Land Registry Direct', the National Land Information Service and Land Register Online customers.
In 1995 we decided to follow the British Standard code of practice for information security management (ISO 17799). The code of practice was designed to ensure integrity and confidentiality of information assets.
Having seen the benefits of following this best practice for four years we decided to apply formally for accreditation.
In the intervening years, the scope of the Standard had been increased to cope with the rapid change of emphasis from hard copy information to electronic information.
In May 2000 Lloyds Register of Quality Assurance (LRQA) formally assessed us and recommended full departmental accreditation against all of our information systems.
Currently, we are the only government department with a full departmental accreditation against all of our information systems.
The Land Registry has been at the forefront of the development of a National Land Information Service (NLIS) since the concept was first announced in the 1992 Citizen's Charter White Paper. Our work is a prime example of effective partnership between central and local government and the private sector. The Service promotes the electronic delivery of a wide range of land- and property-related information to a wider audience delivering, initially, integrated land- and property-related information search facilities to support the conveyancing process in England and Wales.
Following commencement of the commercial service in spring 2001, the Land Registry's main role is now as a key supplier of property information. A central government stakeholder group, chaired by the Land Registry, aims to ensure that the interests of central government are co-ordinated and represented to Local Government Information House, the contract manager of NLIS.
Following recommendations contained in the Quinquennial Review we have set up a small International Unit that has been tasked with co-ordinating our international activities.
We have continued to provide high-level support to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Working Party on Land Administration in its important work in assisting countries in transition to re-establish systems of private land rights and land transfer.
Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between HM Land Registry and the Romanian Ministry of Justice we are currently involved in a project aimed at helping the Ministry modernise its land registration system. To date Land Registry officials have been involved in setting up computer networks in two Land Book offices as well as providing facilities to allow for the scanning and archiving of topographic maps.
During the spring of 2002 we were represented at an international Land Registration Symposium that was organised by the Adenauer Foundation, the Council of the Federation of Russia, the Russian Land Cadastre and the Council of Europe and held in Moscow. The delegates were provided with presentations detailing the history and development of our system and how we have used information technology to improve our services.
Two members of Land Registry staff represented the department at the 9th International Land Policy Forum in Japan making presentations on how HM Land Registry provides information to its customers and also how we compile and publish our Property Price Report.
During 2002 we have received visitors from numerous countries including Bulgaria, Holland, Ireland, Bahrain, China, Poland and Japan.
We have carried out formal customer surveys every year since 1989 and suggested areas for improvement from these surveys are built into our planning processes, where it has been practicable to do so.
The Customer Survey for 2002 showed that overall satisfaction with the Land Registry continues to be exceptionally high with over 98% of our customers being satisfied and, of these, 46% very satisfied with our service.
When comparing the Land Registry with other public service and private sector organisations, 85% of respondents rated us as much better or better than other public sector organisations and 77% rated us as much better or better than private sector organisations.
We also carry out surveys on specific areas of service such as Land Registry Direct and the provision of services in the Welsh language. In addition, we conduct bi-monthly sample satisfaction surveys and customers who visit Customer Information Centres at the Land Registry's local offices are invited to complete a satisfaction questionnaire.
The results of the annual survey are used to form a list of action points taken forward by the Customer Service Group. This Group has been established to formalise the policy and strategy for customer service and produce a long-term business plan to achieve continuous improvement in the quality of services for users. An example of this is the completion times for applications. Customers' feedback (as well as our own performance statistics) confirmed that we had to address completion times for first registrations or transfers and leases of part (new titles). Despite record levels of work, we reduced our stocks of uncompleted substantive applications by 17% over the course of the year. In 2000-01 we were completing 50.8% of new title applications within our target of five weeks. In 2001-02 we had increased this to 64.9% in five weeks (57.3% were being completed in four weeks). One initiative which was welcomed by our customers was the introduction of 'Same Day Dealings', whereby we aim to process and despatch dealings with the whole of a property (such as straightforward purchases or remortgaging) on the day we receive them. Our operational priorities for 2002-03 are to continue to improve productivity and to reduce casework completion times, particularly for new title casework. 'Same Day Dealings' is exerting strong downward pressure on completions for that type of work.
Although there has been a general upturn in satisfaction with overall service (97% either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' in the 2002 survey), the results and the comments reflect the problems that customers have again experienced with delays in answering calls. We have introduced a new processing system to speed up the handling of calls and, following a period of training and some teething problems, the new system is now working well and we are answering more calls. In addition we have recruited and trained 100 new staff. Call levels continue to remain extremely high (around 14,000 a day) and we are doing everything that we can to cope with demand. In response to customer feedback:
All our 25 Customer Information Centres have wheelchair access and all visitors are offered the facility to have their enquiry dealt with in a private room/area. We advertise that we aim to give a quality service to all our customers and that it is important that they can understand and access the information we provide.
We advise customers that we will do our best if they would like:
The above statement is included in our Statement of Service standards and displayed in Customer Information Centres. Customers can also contact us by textphone on a freephone number; we also subscribe to Typetalk. Our website is BOBBY and W3C approved.
We strive to provide a service in which our customers can have full confidence. However, we do not always get it right first time. During 2001-02 we received 3,594 complaints, 90% of which were fully responded to within our five-day target.
We have an Independent Complaints Reviewer, Mrs Jodi Berg, who conducts impartial investigations of complaints from customers who are dissatisfied with the service they have received from us and have not been satisfied by our internal complaints procedures. Where complaints are upheld we may be required to make apologies and sometimes ex gratia payments. Recommendations for improvement may result which are accepted wherever possible.
The Independent Complaints Reviewer's annual report is available from: New Premier House, 150 Southampton Row, London WC1B 5AL. Tel: +44 (0)20 7278 6251.
We are committed to the highest standards of public services, to achieving performance targets set by the Lord Chancellor and HM Treasury and to providing value for money. We strive to deliver high quality services promptly and at low cost. We are one of very few organisations to have been awarded the Charter Mark on four consecutive occasions.
Our key financial, efficiency, customer service and developmental targets and results for 2001-02 are set out in our Annual Report and Accounts 2001-02.
We are constantly working to improve the efficiency of our services. With Treasury agreement, we aim to reduce unit costs in real terms to £20.27 by the end of 2006-07. The figures shown for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 in Table 1 are the planned milestones (in cash terms) towards the achievement of that target. Our target for 2002-03 is to achieve a cost per unit in real terms of £29.67. We are currently (March 2003) on target to achieve this by the end of the financial year. (The figures shown in this report are based on the GDP deflator figures issued by HM Treasury in March 2003.)
We are constantly striving to improve the speed and accuracy of the services we provide. Our targets in this area for 2002-03 are to achieve 75% of all registrations processed in 20 working days each year and for 98.5% of registrations to be handled free of error in each year. We have achieved both targets.
Our key financial target is to achieve a 6% return on average capital employed (ROCE) and we are currently on course to achieve this by the end of 2002-03. The 6% ROCE is subject to a review by HM Treasury, which is not yet concluded.
Our business is very much demand-led. The main external factors which influence the volume of transactions we handle are:
Underlying these factors are general economic conditions such as mortgage interest rates and the ratio of house prices to wages and salaries.
Our unit output (actual and planned) is shown in Table 2.
The number of registered titles held in England and Wales, on which transactions can be made, is 18.7 million.
The knowledge and expertise of our staff are our major assets. We:
For information on our staff numbers, see Table 3 below.
We monitor recruitment to ensure that appointments are made as laid down in the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code, on the basis of fair and open competition and selection on merit. An outline of the recruitment activity appears in the Annual Report and Accounts, the latest covering the 2001-02 financial year. Recruitment processes focus on the competence requirements for individual posts, and the policy is to recruit to replace staff who have left.
Assessment centres have been introduced for appointments at junior executive level, and continue to be used for key senior posts and to fill vacancies for District Land Registrars.
The Diversity and Equal Opportunities Team have continued our commitment to work-life balance and family-friendly policies by the publication and issue of a new booklet outlining a range of flexible work options.
The Registry has continued to be active in extending childcare provision across the network by opening a further workplace nursery, bringing our on-site provision to seven nurseries. Our off-site nursery provision has also expanded to cover three further business units. Current levels of nursery provision mean that there is one nursery place for every 25 staff. This commitment helps the Registry to recruit and retain high-quality staff.
The new diversity awareness and valuing inclusion training programme has now been completed by Senior Management Teams at each of the offices. This is now being supplemented by a similar programme for managers at HQ and with the development of an e-learning package on diversity for all staff.
Our Race Equality Scheme has been published and is available on our website. We are looking to develop this further and to prioritise activities around our employment duties with particular regard to encouraging recruitment from ethnic minority communities.
We are committed to a programme of diversity proofing our policies and processes to ensure that they do not intentionally or inadvertently discriminate against, disadvantage or exclude any group(s) of people or individuals. We have followed up diversity proofing our appraisal system with a programme of proofing our recruitment process including the competences.
We aim to provide a quality service to all customers and recognise that it is important that they can understand and access the information they need. In order to help us we have set up a Service Level Agreement with the Inland Revenue to provide us with documentation in alternative formats. We also maintain a register of staff able to talk with customers in languages other than English and Welsh and in sign language.
Annual internal reviews against the IiP standard continue to take place in each office. These have recently been integrated into our European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model self-assessment exercises. They help to identify areas for improvement and facilitate the spread of better practice in training and development. Additionally, offices have Post Recognition Reviews every three years conducted by an external managing IiP assessor appointed by IiP (UK). This new programme will enable the Land Registry confidently to retain its recognition as an IiP organisation.
The courses available are a one-year Certificate course at A-level standard and a two-year Diploma course at degree level. The courses have been delivered since September 2000 by the Registry in partnership with ILEX Tutorial College.
151 students successfully completed the Certificate course in June 2001 and 223 in 2002. In July 2002 the first Diploma students completed their course by taking their second exam. Fifty students passed including three distinctions and 40 credits. The Diplomas were presented by Baroness Scotland at the Law Society's Hall in November 2002. Currently we have 220 students enrolled on the Certificate, and 115 on year 1 and 80 on year 2 of the Diploma.
We are now working with the College of Law who will be our partners in the delivery of the course from September 2003. An exciting prospect from September 2003 is that we will welcome external students (non Land Registry staff) and the course will form a major part of the Registry's internal and external training on the Land Registration Act 2002.
The courses now support the professional expertise required by staff to perform their jobs. In the future we look forward to extending that within the Registry and sharing our knowledge and the course with external students to strengthen our existing good relationships with our customers.
No public appointments were made in 2002-03. We already have two non-executive directors on the Land Registry Directing Board, which is in keeping with the Government's 'Modernising Government' agenda.
We have been successful in obtaining certification to ISO14001, the international standard for Environmental Management Systems, at three further business units and our Headquarters, who join DLR for Lancashire on our corporate certificate.
Another eight offices (our Nottingham East and West offices are being treated as one site for ISO14001 purposes) have begun local implementation of our Environmental Management System and are scheduled for an external extension of scope audit in April 2003. All remaining offices will begin implementation in 2004 and all will be accredited by the end of 2005.
Due principally to further usage of IT, our electricity consumption in 2001-02 again rose although this must be offset by the increase in production which is linked to IT development. Our gas consumption did, however, decrease dramatically giving an overall energy reduction figure of 7.15%, exceeding the ongoing 1% per annum reduction figure set by the Government.
The Land Registry has joined the OGC-led Watermark Project through which benchmarking exercises and numerous water surveys have been completed. We have set ourselves a target of reducing our consumption by 5% by 2003-04.
Table 1: Unit costs in cash terms
| 2000-01 actual | 2001-02 actual | 2002-03 milestone | 2002-03 forecast | 2003-04 milestone | 2004-05 milestone | 2005-06 milestone |
| £30.63 | £29.87 | £29.67 | £25.21 | £29.11 | £28.84 | £28.76 |
| Note: The cost of completing each unit of work is calculated by dividing the Land Registry's operational expenditure in any period by the number of units of work completed during that period. | ||||||
Table 2: Workload (thousands of units)
| 1998-99 actual | 1999-00 actual | 2000-01 actual | 2001-02 actual | 2002-03 actual | 2003-04 plan | 2004-05 plan | 2005-06 plan | |
| Work received | 7,524 | 8,790 | 9,400 | 10,682 | 12,747 | 11,362 | 11,562 | 11,762 |
| Output | 7,341 | 8,764 | 9,194 | 10,756 | 12,783 | 11,362 | 11,562 | 11,762 |
| Staff numbers | 1998-99 actual | 1999-00 actual | 2000-01 actual | 2001-02 actual | 2002-03 actual | 2003-04 plan | 2004-05 plan | 2005-06 plan |
| Civil Service Full Time Equivalents | 7,839 | 7,772 | 7,767 | 7,690 | 7,950 | 7,881 | 7,901 | 7,902 |
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